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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mate — a partner
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. swing — to play on
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. swing — music
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mine — for digging
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. swing — in golf
  21. degree — an amount
  22. can — to be able to
  23. chest — a box
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com